Burgeon
by Gray Doll
Summary: 'No-one said it was going to be easy, but there is nothing to stop us from trying.' SandorxSansa, future-fic


**Burgeon**

1- _Smile_

To call his face unsightly would be an understatement. To say that his glare can send armed men running and babes wailing in their cradles would be nothing but the truth. She looks deep into his eyes, and she only smiles.

2- _Candles_

He has to keep himself from reaching out and pulling her away from the burning candles – whenever she gets too close, her fiery hair looks like it is truly aflame.

3- _Pet_

He frowns as she looks up at him beneath thick lashes, a small pleading pout on her lips. The tiny ball of white fur shifts in her arms and he lets out a growl of resignation, lifting his gaze to the skies as a huge grin appears on her face.

4- _Toast_

"To the future," she murmurs, delicately lifting the beaker to her lips. He rolls his eyes and downs his own wine in one large gulp.

5- _Celebration_

He can't help but groan at the sight of the countless bouquets adorning the staple kitchen table. Pinks, blues and yellows flood the shady gray of the room, and he can't decide whether he likes the picture or not.

6- _Fur_

He dashes the thick pelt and somehow she manages to catch it mid-air, only to hold it at arm's length and stare at it with confusion. "Is that... a bear's?" The thought alone is upsetting, but she decides it's better than being cold.

7- _Shy_

Laughter rumbles low in his throat when she blushes, as if she's still the innocent maiden of King's Landing, and she throws the pillow at him in retaliation.

8- _Moon_

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Her voice is wistful, and he can do nothing but agree.

9- _Rat_

At the sound of her scream his mattock drops to the floor. He sprints across the croft and into the cottage, only to see her mounting a trunk, staring in abject horror as the small animal gnaws at her tumbled breakfast.

10- _Jealous_

He feels her eyes shooting daggers at him and he smiles inwardly, though he makes sure to keep an impassive face towards the busty waitress, ordering her meal first and then his own.

11- _Dimensions_

"You're too big," she frowns, knowing the tunic she's just sewn will have to go for sale.

12- _Water_

Her hair is dripping, an inconsistent pattern of water rapidly forming on the floorboards as he carries her to the bed, and when he snatches the towel from her she is caught between laughter and a whine. "I just bathed!"

13- _Remember_

She'd called him something awful once, believing he deserved it, and she recalls it with aching clarity. _Monster_. She knows she can never take it back, but he seems to have forgotten – she supposes she can allow herself to do the same.

14- _Apology_

"I don't care." She turns from him and storms out of the room, leaving him alone to battle with his anger and guilt.

15- _False_

She shakes her head. "I just had my moonblood," she mutters, and he knows they won't be needing those nursling's duds after all.

16- _Stay_

He cradles her head in his hands and for the first time in decades he prays, to whatever god might hear him, begging them with everything he has not to take her from him.

17- _Hope_

Her eyes flutter open and he lets out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The words that come out next are incoherent grumbles, but it's not his plaints she needs – it's a maester, and he runs like a madman through the rain to find one.

18- _Sour_

"It's awful." A grimace twists her pale face and he rolls his eyes, "down it, girl. Unless you want to stay in bed for the rest of your many days."

19- _Fragile_

Her arms, thinner than he remembers them, find their way around his neck but he has to gently push her back against the pillows, afraid she'll snap in two if he does so much as kiss her now.

20- _Red_

"It's beautiful," she smiles, tucking the rose into her tangled hair, and he can't help but smile back.

21- _Porcelain_

"I'm not a doll," she protests, wringing her arm free from his grasp. "I _can_ walk on my own without breaking, whether you believe it or not."

22- _Mirror_

A horrified look sets on her face at the sight of her reflection, and he groans. "You look fine!"

23- _Unsuccessful_

Her eyes are glistening orbs of expectation – he regrets having to tell her, but her stew could have been much better.

24- _Small_

Sometimes he thinks she's too tiny (even though she can be considered quite tall for her age), and is worried that she might break if he takes things too far, but she never seems to mind.

25- _Sting_

"You were the one who wanted to dance barefoot in the woods," he reminds her, hoisting her up so that her swollen toe won't have to touch the hard ground.

26- _Coins_

"But you promised!" She folds her arms tightly about her chest and glares at him, her eyes only leaving his when he finally yields and hands her the pouch. On her way to the market, she thinks that perhaps she should get him something useful instead of buying yet another gown for herself.

27- _Howl_

He holds her tightly against his chest and she sighs, the song of the wolves mingling with her soft words. "I still miss them, sometimes."

28- _Tantrum_

He can do nothing to comfort her except for leaving her alone until she's calmed down. He's never been good at consoling, he tells himself, and he knows he will probably end up with a black eye if he goes anywhere near her at the moment. His angry little bird.

29- _Departure_

"When will you be back?" she asks him, her voice unwavering though he can see the hurt in her eyes.

30- _Gifts_

She does not smile once while she unwraps the parcels he brought her, and the tightening in his chest only gets worse.

31- _Kiss_

Her lips are soft against his own, and he can only thank the gods, the old and the new, that she has finally forgiven him.

32- _Family_

He has to understand. She thought them dead, and now she learns she still has a brother – he _has_ to understand. She wipes the tears with an angry hand and mounts her mare.

33- _Fear_

The man stares at him with huge, pleading eyes, madly shaking his head while he repeats, over and over again, that no-one has seen her since she cantered through the village, wearing a dark overcoat and a plaintive expression.

34- _Knife_

When he kills again, after so many years, it feels odd. It's not pleasant, it's not thrilling like it used to be – it only leaves him with a void larger than before, and he wishes she was there to fill it.

35- _Fire_

He tosses the now-empty mug into the fire and watches with hooded eyes as the hard clay overheats and cracks in the glowing embers.

36- _Time_

He doesn't know how much time has passed – it could be years, for all he knows. What he does know is that he gave up after four months of frantic pursuit. He also knows he should have never stopped, but there is nothing he can do now.

37- _Sleep_

He hasn't had a nightmare in years, yet that night he wakes up sweaty and breathing hard, painfully aware of the scars on his face and the emptiness of the bed beside him.

38- _Flowers_

When he walks into the small bathing chamber he'd built for her, he expects to find her perching on her painted stool, sampling her newest flower-scented perfume or combing her fiery tresses with a silver hairbrush.

39- _Meat_

The food is tasteless, and he wonders why he keeps eating at all.

40- _Sound_

He hears the faint crack of a door pushed open but he ignores it, knowing his hazy mind is playing tricks once again.

41- _Soft_

A hand is touching his cheek and he reels, willing his eyes to stay closed and his mind to stop fucking with him. "She's gone, dog", he growls, "stop bringing her back in your head."

42- _Disbelief_

Her eyes are wide and glistening with tears, yet he refuses to believe his eyes. She makes soothing noises and strokes his skin but he pushes her hands away with a growl, leaving her crumpled and weeping on the floor beside the bed.

43- _Lament_

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Her sobs are muffled by his chest but her body heaves and spasms in his arms, and he keeps his face buried in her tangled hair, breathing in her scent and holding on her as if for dear life.

44- _Acceptance_

The boy eyes him fearfully and she merely smiles. "He's not going to kill you, Bran," she says softly and he huffs in annoyance. It's taking every ounce of his willpower not to.

45- _Farewell_

A single tear runs down her cheek but she doesn't step out of the house, hovering in the threshold instead, her back to him. She promises that she will write often, and he can't help the relieved sigh that escapes his lips when he hears the sound of hooves against ground. They can be alone again.

46- _Lemons_

He tries his mightiest with the spoons and pans and hopes the results aren't catastrophic – when she gulps down the mouthful of lemon-pie he stares, waiting for her condescending remark. Instead she smiles brightly, and offers him a bite.

47- Laughter

They laugh again, together, for the first time in what feels like decades as they fall onto the bed.

48- _Pink_

She turns around and he frowns at her swirling skirts. "It's too... pink."

49- _Jewel_

A small smile tugs at the corners of her lips but she tries to hide it – rather unsuccessfully. He gives her a smug look, pleased that she looks positively awed. "Thank you," she whispers and drops a feather-soft kiss on his jaw, before picking up the golden pendant.

50- _Disagreement_

"It's a girl," she says firmly, and he rolls his eyes. "Boy," he insists, and she turns on her side.

51- _Knowledge_

"How do you even know?" he asks her, and she sets her jaw proudly. "I just do," she says in her most self-assured manner. "I am the mother, so _I_ know."

52- _Visitor_

He rans a sweaty hand over his face and tries to think of ways to shut the flock of hens up. But then her eyes meet his over the table, silently reprimanding him - '_they are my friends, and you better behave_'.

53- _Announcement_

The maester grins at them. "I am suspecting twins," he says brightly and she gives a small chuckle of happiness.

54- _Tense_

He has never felt any more awkward than he does now, cradling the tiny bundle in his arm, but her smile is reassuring and he wills himself to relax.

55- _Attempts_

She laughs heartily with his apparent fear to pick the babe from his crib and she stands, intent on showing him how it's done. With a relieved sigh, he lets her take charge.

56- _Nervous_

"I can't... not with the babes in the room," he mutters gruffly and she throws her head back in frustration.

57- _Protect_

She climbs down the flight of stairs with her son and daughter in her arms and he tenses, ready to plunge and catch her if she falls, but she reaches him with small, graceful steps and a teasing smile on her lips.

58- _Sundown_

The sky is aflame, reds and oranges swirling overhead as they lie on their backs on the moist grass, listening to the sounds of laughing children.

59- _Names_

"You don't call me little bird any more," she mutters against his chest and he frowns. "I've missed it."

60- _Confession_

"I love you," he says suddenly one day, and he wonders why he hasn't done so all these years. He thinks it's because she already knows – they both know.

* * *

**Author's Note:**  
**Hello there! Thank you for reading this admittedly random piece... I had a terrible writer's block so my best friend gave me 60 words and told me to use them to write snapshots from the life of a couple of my choice... The first thing that came to mind was SanSan, of course... However, I wanted this to be a future-fic type of story... so yes, they are in an *established* relationship (of sorts) in this story... I don't know if it turned out well, but, oh well! I hope you liked it!**


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